Barcelona player ratings as hat-trick hero Lionel Messi is aided by Dembele and Coutinho in 3-1 win

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  • Barcelona marched on towards the La Liga title with a 3-1 win over Leganes at the Camp Nou.

    Lionel Messi was the main man again as he scored a hat-trick on the night to seal all three points.

    Here, we rate the Barcelona players.

    BARCELONA (4-4-2)

    Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6: Wasn’t tested apart from the goal which he could do little about. Didn’t have to make a save.

    Nelson Semedo – 7: As ever, a bit suspect at the back but made up for it with some excellent attacking play.

    Gerard Pique – 5: A rather wild lunge to tackle Gabriel didn’t come off and instead saw Leganes go on to exploit the gap he left in behind to score through Nabil El Zhar. Missed a couple of glorious chances at the other end.

    Thomas Vermaelen – 7: One of his better performances in a Barcelona shirt as he was impressive in defence. Made a brilliant tackle on the edge of the box early in the second half.

    Sergi Roberto – 7: Played out of position on the left but never put a foot wrong. Wasn’t as enterprising as Jordi Alba but held his own going forward.

    Andre Gomes – 6: A rather underwhelming performance again. Gave the ball away cheaply on a couple of occasions. He did win four aerial duels quite surprisingly though so there’s that.

    Ivan Rakitic – 7: Showed that he is capable of controlling the midfield, not quite as well as Sergio Busquets naturally but no too shabby at all from the Croatian.

    Philippe Coutinho – 7: Came off to a rousing applause and rightly so after another promising display. Picked out Messi well for the second and seemed to link up with his team-mates excellently. He’s beginning to feel at home.

    Lionel Messi – 10: Never broke a sweat as he notched up another hat-trick, kicking it all off with a trademark free-kick. His low effort was typically clinical and he put the icing on the cake with a nonchalant poke over the keeper. Unstoppable.

    Luis Suarez – 6: Linked up well in attack but really should’ve been on the score sheet. He came agonisingly close on a couple of occasions but his effort which was saved from close range in the 19th minute really should’ve been converted.

    Ousmane Dembele – 7: Like Coutinho, Dembele is growing in confidence and was impressive against Leganes. Ever a threat in attack, he set up Messi for his third that sealed the points.

    Barcelona

    Barcelona

    SUBS

    Jordi Alba – 4: Didn’t make a contribution after coming on in the 74th minute other than to earn himself a booking.

    Andres Iniesta – N/A

    Denis Suarez – N/A

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